By Declan Schuster

Derek Leung has been in fine form recently with five wins from the last three race meetings and this Wednesday (17 February) at Happy Valley he is looking to maintain his momentum with a full book of nine rides as he eyes a new personal best.

“I will do my best (to beating his personal best), why not? The horses that I am riding and the new horses coming through have a good future, I think I will do even better in the second half of the season - it’s my target to set a new personal best,” Leung said.

R1 8-12-7-10
R2 2-8-4-10
R3 1-9-4-11
R4 7-5-10-11
R5 1-3-6-8
R6 7-3-11-8
R7 4-3-6-12
R8 8-1-9-3
R9 3-2-11-5

Best Bet R7 N4 V Chevaliers
Long Shot R4 N7 Mercurial
Play R7 QQP 3-4-6

Tom Wood:

R1: 8-7-9-12
R2: 2-5-8-7
R3: 4-3-11-1
R4: 5-7-1-11
R5: 1-3-5-6
R6: 3-7-11-8
R7: 3-1-4-12
R8: 1-3-8-11
R9: 2-11-5-10

Marway has won his last two races, although they came nine months apart. Most recently he won a five-furlong handicap at Warwick Farm on Jan. 26, closing from third in a field of eight to win by about a neck.

Between those last two races, he was transferred from trainer John O’Sing to Mark Newnham, who is based at Randwick.

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Monday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse was work day for the American horses in Saudi Arabia for Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup.

Knicks Go, Charlatan, Sleepy Eyes Todd, and Max Player all turned in breezes for the Saudi Cup. Tacitus, the other American horse that shipped for the race, might have a blowout on Tuesday but didn’t work Monday, his trainer, Bill Mott said. Mott also shipped Channel Maker for a start in the $1 million Middle Distance Turf Cup, while Max Player’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, sent Cowan for the $1.5 million Saudi Derby.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, February 17, 2021)

Glassey Miss had the best span of her three-season career from late June to New Year’s Eve in Australia, winning three of five starts. During that span, Glassey Miss won handicaps at six furlongs once and at seven furlongs twice.

Glassey Miss was fifth of 11 in a handicap at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne on Jan 15 in her lone start this year. Despite the setback, Glassey Miss looks well placed in a handicap at a mile at Swan Hill Racecourse, well north of Melbourne, on Tuesday.

The lightly raced filly Starspangled Baby and the veteran mare Rendelsham meet for the first time in a handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Stony Creek Racecourse in Australia on Monday.

As of Saturday, they were the 8-5 co-favorites in early betting, by far the shortest prices in a field of nine.

A 3-year-old, Starspangled Baby beat maidens in her fourth start at Sale Racecourse on Jan. 31 in a race at 1 1/16 miles. Leading throughout, Starspangled Baby won by three-quarters of a length. The Sale race was the first time Starspangled Baby had set the pace.

Paul Lally:

R1: 4-7-11-3

R2: 4-2-6-3

R3: 5-9-2-10

R4: 3-1-2-6

R5: 3-5-4-8

R6: 10-6-7-12

R7: 14-8-1-6

R8: 4-8-9-1

R9: 5-11-3-1

R10: 1-3-6-2

R11: 2-8-12-4

Best Bet: R8 N4 California Rad

Longshot: R4 N3 Galactic

Play R8: QQP 4-8-9

Tom Wood:

R1: 4-7-11-3

R2: 4-3-6-1

R3: 2-5-9-10

R4: 3-12-6-1
R5: 5-3-4-2

R6: 10-3-7-1

R7: 8-6-1-14

R8: 4-3-5-1

R9: 11-5-3-2

R10: 3-5-1-2

R11: 2-4-12-1

Beauty Smile, a 4-year-old with some upside, sits at the bottom of the ratings but could come out on top of the Class 1 Chinese New Year Cup Handicap on Sunday at Sha Tin.

This 1,400-meter race, featured on an 11-race card two days card coming two days after the actual Chinese New Year, is for horses rated 110-85 and drew nine entrants. Beauty Smile, rated 86, is one of three in the race carrying just 113 pounds, 20 fewer than top-rated Fat Turtle.

Art Cadeau has never been worse than second in nine career starts in Australia, a consistent record that can serve the gelding well in Sunday’s $116,370 Newhaven Park Country Championship qualifier at Nowra Racecourse.

A top-two finish in the seven-furlong handicap will earn Art Cadeau a berth in the $387,850 Country Championship final at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on April 3. There are eight qualifying races run at tracks throughout the state of New South Wales this weekend through March 21.